Treasury Curve Flattens as Fed Spurs Traders to Pare Easing Bets

Traders dialed back the amount of U.S. central-bank easing they anticipate and the Treasuries yield curve flattened as Chairman Jerome Powell dented expectations for further cuts even as he lowered the Federal Reserve’s benchmark.

Short-end yields rose immediately after the Fed’s decision to cut rates by a quarter point, amid disappointment from some that the easing wasn’t larger. They reached their peak of the day as Powell at his news conference called the the easing a mid-cycle adjustment to policy and that Wednesday’s move isn’t the start of a long series of cuts.